Champions of Change Blog

Support Biomass Crops and Renewable Energy

Posted by Rick Huszagh and Crista Carrell on July 19, 2011 at 6:46 PM EDT

Ed. Note: Champions of Change is a weekly initiative to highlight Americans who are making an impact in their communities and helping our country rise to meet the many challenges of the 21st century.

Last week in our meeting with Secretary Vilsack concerning rural development opportunities it became apparent that our country is facing a critical point. Energy and food production are approaching unprecedented challenges with occurrences such as China, South Korea and Saudi Arabia’s recent purchases and leases of over 140 million acres of land in Ethiopia and Sudan. To put things in perspective, this is the equivalent of all of the U.S.’s wheat and corn land currently in production.

The United States is fortunate enough to have abundant and fertile land and a strong transportation infrastructure. The challenge is to turn our focus to rural America, from which so much of our food and energy come but which has only 16% of our population. Fellow Champions of Change outlined many creative ways of addressing rural America’s needs. Local food movements, energy efficient and consolidated housing development, and energy crops were among some of the many established and on-the-ground examples that are already functioning and put in place by just the few people in the room. All of these examples had something in common, which was the support of the USDA either through outreach or initial funding.

read the rest

Learn more about Energy and Environment, Rural
With Ohio's Help, Creating Clean Electricity and Jobs

Posted by Ari Matusiak on July 19, 2011 at 11:36 AM EDT

If you ever get the chance to meet Irish-born entrepreneur, Philip Brennan, he’ll be quick to tell you, “Depending on who you believe in my family, I’m a fourth or fifth generation entrepreneur. I’ve worked for big corporations for many years and was tired of trying to turn the aircraft carrier in another direction. It is more fun sailing our hydrofoil sailboat, allowing the team to move quicker and respond faster to the changing conditions.” This is a simple way to describe his career and his current venture as a co-founder and the CEO of Echogen Power Systems LLC based in Akron, OH.

In 1992, at the age of 22, Mr. Brennan began charting his course by becoming the youngest recipient of Georgetown University’s Graduate Fellowship for the Masters in Business Administration. Over the next 20 years after graduation, Phil held various senior and executive management positions in operations, finance, manufacturing, sales and general management for Fortune 100 companies such as Pfizer, Warner Lambert, and Rubbermaid. In those roles, he led and managed a variety of businesses of greater than $200 million in sales where he conceived, developed, and launched over 100 new products. Since then he has helped to raise angel financing and prepare a number of new companies for the next stage of venture funding.

Philip Brennan founded Echogen, which transforms waste industrial heat directly into clean, emission-free electricity. (Photo by Marc Golub).

read the rest

Learn more about Economy, Energy and Environment, Technology
Sustainable Agriculture in the Midwest

Posted by Linda J. Barnes on July 19, 2011 at 9:59 AM EDT

Ed. Note: Champions of Change is a weekly initiative to highlight Americans who are making an impact in their communities and helping our country rise to meet the many challenges of the 21st century.

It was a privilege to be among the Champions of Change for Rural America. What an amazing group of people. I was heartened to meet my fellow champions, to hear their stories and to witness their passion.

In rural Iowa we grow a good deal of the nation’s corn and soybeans. We have the richest soil in the U.S. and yet we import more than 85% of food we eat from outside our state. Our farmers are aging; the average age of a farmer in the U.S. is about 58. Few young people have aspirations to become farmers. Our rural landscape is littered with small towns devoid of businesses, shrinking schools, and for some, a sense of hopelessness. It astounded me, this rural decay in the midst of such rich land.

I am a professor of biology at Marshalltown Community College. I am also a small organic farmer who along with my family raises fruit, vegetables and some livestock. I knew what the land could produce. I knew that our community could feed and employ itself far better if we grew their own produce. To that end I proposed that we develop the Entrepreneurial and Diversified Agriculture program at the community college. This a two year degree program preparing new farmers to grow and market diverse crops locally.

read the rest

Learn more about Energy and Environment, Rural
Linking Technology and Higher Education with the Private Sector

Posted by Roland Arriola on July 18, 2011 at 7:10 PM EDT

Ed. Note: Champions of Change is a weekly initiative to highlight Americans who are making an impact in their communities and helping our country rise to meet the many challenges of the 21st century.

I was deeply honored to be recognized as a Champion of Change on July 6. It was particularly gratifying for me as well as my counterparts from rural America to have the President of the United States visit with us during our roundtable discussion.

In keeping with President Obama’s historic steps to lay the foundation for the innovation economy of the future, it has been my privilege to lead an initiative to develop a Technopolis Village that will leverage and link technology innovators and the resources of higher educational institutions with the private sector to create a technology cluster in the Lower Rio Grande Valley of Texas.

read the rest

Learn more about Rural
Rural Champions of Change – Sparking Innovation

Posted by Melody Barnes on July 18, 2011 at 6:21 PM EDT

Ed. Note: Champions of Change is a weekly initiative to highlight Americans who are making an impact in their communities and helping our country rise to meet the many challenges of the 21st century.

President Barack Obama talks with rural community leaders from across the country at a Rural Champions for Change Roundtable meeting in the Eisenhower Executive Office Building of the White House, July 6, 2011. With President Obama are Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack, second from left, and Domestic Policy Council Director Melody Barnes. (Official White House Photo by Pete Souza).

One of the most gratifying aspects of working in the White House is that you never know who you might see on a daily basis. A wonderful and diverse cadre of Americans pass through for meetings and events, including renowned scientists, members of the U.S. Armed Forces, and occasionally even entertainment celebrities. Often, these visitors represent the most talented leaders in their respective fields.

With this in mind, I was particularly pleased to recently participate in a Champions of Change roundtable with eighteen Rural Americans, representing the spectrum of excellence in Rural America. The group included farmers, ranchers, local educators, small business owners, and folks who are improving their communities through innovative actions. These rural champions represent the best of the best in their respective fields.

We were honored to be joined by President Obama, who shared his vision for economic growth and development in rural areas. The President highlighted the importance of exports in agricultural areas, and the critical nature of transportation issues. He emphasized the need for high-speed internet access and stated that rural areas should expect to have opportunities equivalent to those in other areas of the nation. The President also discussed the importance of identifying rural Americans’ success stories and sharing that knowledge across the country.

read the rest

Learn more about Rural
One Tree at a Time

Posted by Matthew Evans on July 15, 2011 at 1:47 PM EDT

Ed. Note: Champions of Change is a weekly initiative to highlight Americans who are making an impact in their communities and helping our country rise to meet the many challenges of the 21st century.

“How great it is that nobody need wait a single moment before starting to improve the world.” – Anne Frank.

After working hard to improve my corner of the world, I have been able to share it with others. This week's Champions of Change call was a wonderful opportunity to talk with other youth who are making a difference one school at a time.

For my 15th birthday, I wanted to do something more than a “wasteful” party, and I wanted to do something. I knew after getting involved with energy conservation and green building I wanted to do something now and not debate the might or could be. I worked with the local arborist to plant 30 trees with a bunch of friends for a “Party with a Purpose,” and it turned out successful. Food, trees and fun. My family and friends wanted to do some more. The second Party with a Purpose was in March of 2009, these 100 saplings were the start of Discover Green. We continued planting trees, I started writing grants, and the next thing I knew my organization had been involved in 101 events, presented to 6,095 youth, planted or distributed 6,701 trees, collected over 50 tons of trash, marked 2,500 storm drains – worked with 1,100 teens and made sure that almost 2,100 pieces of pizza were eaten. This doesn’t include all the other great partnerships and projects invasive species, watershed education, native wildlife habitats and more.

With more than 2,000 community service hours in the last five years, people ask me why I do this. My answer – “Why not!” As FDR said, “We cannot always build the future for our youth, but we can build our youth for the future.”

read the rest

Learn more about Energy and Environment